Man's Head with Nude
Medium
Lithograph in black on white wove paper
Dimensions
Image: 38.4 × 32.5 cm (15 1/8 × 12 13/16 in.); Sheet: 48 × 40 cm (18 15/16 × 15 3/4 in.)
Classification
lithograph
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
90123
Art Historical Context
Ernst Ludwig Kirchner's *Man's Head with N* (1908) is a striking lithograph that captures the raw intensity of Expressionism. Created when Kirchner was a young artist in Dresden, this black-on-white print features a close-up male head juxtaposed with a nude figure, in bold, angular lines that convey emotional depth and psychological tension. Measuring 38.4 × 32.5 cm, it exemplifies Kirchner's printmaking prowess on wove paper, a smooth surface ideal for the crisp contrasts of lithography. As a co-founder of Die Brücke (The Bridge) group in 1905, Kirchner rejected academic traditions, embracin...
About the Artist
Ernst Ludwig Kirchner · 1880–1938
Ernst Ludwig Kirchner was born on May 6, 1880, in Aschaffenburg, Germany, to parents Ernst and Maria Kirchner, part of a family of Prussian descent that frequently relocated due to his father's career as a chemical technician. After early schooling in various towns, he studied architecture at the Königliche Technische Hochschule (Technical University) in Dresden from 1901 to 1905, taking courses i...